January 2022 Note from the editor 

    We have made it to 2022! It’s a new year full of excitement. We enjoyed our Zoom meetings, our virtual conferences, and working from home. But nothing takes the place of personal social interaction. It was great to cover the 2021 live conferences!

    We are so honored to partner with SHRM in 2022 to bring you monthly previews of each chapter in Johnny C. Taylor, Jr.’s new book, RESET! As you may know, Johnny is President and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management. RESET is a Leader’s Guide to Work in an Age of Upheaval. You may not know that all the proceeds from the sale of the book go to the SHRM Foundation! I highly recommend this book and encourage you to get your copy today so that you can follow along with Johnny as he brings us important insights on the future of work.

    With this new year comes a lot of new and revised labor and employment laws. I know you will have many questions and need assistance with these new and updated regulations. We have you covered with our special section on 2022 Super Lawyers in Labor and Employment Law. Here you will find the top attorneys who can help you with your questions. Please give them a call and take advantage of their many years of experience.

    It is a pleasure to feature Alexandria Smith, CHRO for the City of Memphis, on our January cover this month. Alex is a very accomplished HR professional whose HR team lead the city through the pandemic as they personally administered the vaccines to Memphians. I know you will enjoy reading about her illustrious career in this issue.

    If one of your New Year’s resolutions includes becoming a certified HR professional in 2022, you will be happy to learn that we are offering our Online HRC PHR | SPHR Certification Exam Prep Class beginning February 16. Our Online SHRM Certification Exam Prep Class for SHRM-CP | SHRM-SCP is in April. We are proud of our 90% pass rate for both of these certifications. See Page 29 for details about our upcoming HRCI class. Register today at www.hrprofessionalsmagazine.com

    If you are looking for recertification credits for your SHRM certification and your HRCI certification, we’ve got you covered there also. Stay tuned for the details of our upcoming webinars every Thursday. Special thanks to Data Facts who sponsors my monthly complimentary webinars. Our next webinar is January 27. Watch your email for your invitation. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us for these exciting events.

    Best wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2022!

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    Twitter @cythomps
    (L to R) The Crescent Club Memphis entertained guests of the Board or Governors for a holiday happy hour on December 10. Cynthia Thompson and Dianne Lester welcomed Brad Federman, CEO of Performance Point, and VP of Workforce Development for SHRM-Memphis; Dr. Deneen Lester, HR Manager of the Salvation Army Kroc Center, and Tennessee SHRM Director – West with her husband Chuck.